The Fury's Butterfly
by Snow Queen 43
Summary: Alice was only looking for a better life after the horrors she had seen, Hajikata wanted to make the Shinsengumi a strong force to be reckoned with, what happens when two seemingly different people and cultures meet? Will their love blossom? Or will a dark madness destroy them all?
1. Chapter 1: encounters

The Fury's butterfly

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own American McGee's Alice or Hakuouki so don't sue me

 **Summary** :

Alice was only looking for a better life after the horrors she had seen, Hajikata wanted to make the Shinsengumi a strong force to be reckoned with, what happens when two seemingly different people and cultures meet? Will their love blossom? Or will a dark madness destroy them all?

Chapter 1: encounters

It had been a good three years since Alice had killed Bumby in London and a solid two years since she moved to Kyoto so she could escape those morbid memories. Only to find that Japan was having it's own civil war.

It was dark, making the only illumination available the light of the full moon and as she walked down the street to her residence she was suddenly approached by a group of what I could only describe as disgraced samurai at the time.

"Well what's a pretty little thing like you doing out here alone after dark" one leered at Alice reaching out to touch her face, only for Alice to slap the hand away and spit in his face.

"You little Bitch!" Another yelled out angrily as he went to draw his sword.

"What? Should I be on the ground kissing your filthy feet" Alice countered adding insult to injury.

"You little brat! I'll teach you to respect your betters" the first one growls as he reached out to grab her only for her to turn tail and run.

Alice didn't dare look back as she ran through the desolate streets only ever changing directions when needed however she had to curse her bad luck after her third turn and ended up in a dead end alley. Knowing she couldn't escape Alice dived in behind an abandoned cart silently praying that those perverts passed her without noticing.

"She went this way" one of the men yelled as they got closer to her hiding place, Alice scrambled backwards further into the shadows while trying to make herself as small as possible.

Suddenly Alice remembered that the last time she returned from Wonderland she had retained her powers and so could summon the vorpal blade, and with all the courage she could muster Alice focused on her beloved weapon and sure enough with a soft grey glow the blade's ornately carved handle was in her hand and glinting in the moonlight was its cold steel blade. Now while the vorpal blade was no sword, it was as good as one due to the deceptive nature of it, and it's ability to transform into it's enormous counterpart the vorpal cleaver.

After summing up her courage Alice launched herself out of her hiding place in order to attack her would be attackers. She heard the most blood curdling scream as she witnessed one of the most grotesque scenes she would ever see, and that was saying something in her mind at the very least. The men were all being slaughtered one by one by humanoid creatures that she would call vampires, with her theory backed up by the creatures dry rasp demanding blood.

As soon as the creature's victims were dead and drained of their crimson life essence they turned and made their way towards Alice with a new found vigor and with the glee of demented children. Knowing it was now or never Alice raised her blade and ran head on at the threat embedding her weapon in one of the monster's chest and pulling down in a sepaku like fashion to reveal its innards for the world to see and causing it to fall to the ground dead.

However before she was able to attack the others someone had already dealt with them and had started to walk over toward her, this was when she realized how truly exhausted she was and allowed herself to become unconscious. The last thing she remembered was being caught by a pair of strong arms, before succumbing to the blackness that was her subconscious mind and unconsciousness combined ready and waiting to once again torment her without regret.

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Okey here is my first crossover, and I admit I can imagine this happening, so enjoy please read and review and let me know what you want to happen next.

any way till next time my lovelies

Love Snow


	2. Chapter 2: Desicions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own American McGee's Alice or Hakuōki so please do not sue me

 **AN: once again sorry for the mishap with Black hearts it's been fixed and I hope you like it, and now I hope you enjoy this new cross over seeing it's the first one I've ever done plus it's the first American mcgee's Alice and Hakuoki crossover. So please read and review**

Chapter 2: decisions

To say that Hijikata was having a bad night was a gross understatement, not only did he have to capture and kill some rogue samurai but also had to destroy three fury's.

However when he managed to locate and arrive at the spot where they where supposed to be he saw that the samurai where dead, and one of the fury's was in the process of being butchered by a strange girl who looked no older than 16 years old if not slightly older.

As soon As he destroyed the other two fury's, Hijikata watched the horrific scene not knowing whether to be impressed or disturbed at her actions, for mere minutes he stood there watching as this woman proceeded to kill the fury that should have been his responsibility to dispose of.

It wasn't until she had completed her attack that he began to approach her, as he got closer he saw her look up at him her bright jade green eyes wide like they where searching for his very soul, then it happened just seconds after her savage attack she collapsed into his arms, as safe and docile as a newborn kitten.

"Hijikata-kun have you...oh well this is disgusting, did you do this or?" Saito started to ask until he noticed the unconscious girl in Hijikata's arms, as Hijikata scooped her up into a bridal position he heard a metallic clattering sound as her knife fell to the ground, Saito bent over to pick up and examine the knife only to pocket it for the journey.

"Saito-kun I managed to kill one of them but when I went to destroy the other one I saw her in the process of killing him, to think a child capable of doing something so horrifying and yet so courageous disturbs and surprises me" Hijikata said calmly, not allowing his disgust and intrigue bleed into his voice.

"So what are we going to do with her, I mean we can't just leave her out here and as you said she had her hand in this, so she needs to either judged or executed" stated Okita staring at the bundle in Hijikata's arms.

"We have to take her to head quarters, she's not safe here in the open and besides she was defending herself more than any thing" Hijikata said not knowing what to do, she was dangerous yet useful, weak yet strong and venerable yet perfectly capable of protecting herself, this girl was quite the conundrum to say the least.

"Should we bind her at least?" Ask Okita obviously not wanting their new "guest" to escape.

"No, it'll cause her to panic and lash out once she is freed" replied Hijikata knowing where this would lead to.

As they walked back to head quarters Hijikata started to get the feeling they where being watched, he could swear he saw a pair of big yellow eyes staring at him from under a hedge, they seemed to blink and then vanish into the night, after that he began to think that he was working himself into exhaustion.

Once the arrived he instructed for some of the men to set up a room for her and to have it guarded for the rest of the night, not wanting her to escape after she woke up, Hijikata also told Saito to give him the girls knife so he could return it in the morning, but only after he examined it.

To him it seemed like an ordinary western kitchen or butchers knife but it had some differences, like the delicately carved handle and the engraved blade, but also a makers mark something that you don't get here. Once he finished looking the blade over he placed it on his table and went to check on their new guest and seeing as she was still resting he told the guard that no one is to go in or out of her room alone to prevent any injury and any escape attempts on her part.

Now that Hijikata thought about the girl the more he became curious, she was obviously foreign with features like hers, skin paler than white silk, hair blacker than ink that hung at her tiny waist, her figure, lots of the women he saw before defiantly did not have a figure like hers, it was like an hour glass, and then there was her eyes, he had never seen such beautiful eyes though he wouldn't admit it yet, when he saw them he was entranced by them, he could see every thing about her in them, her rawest emotions, but the most unique thing about them where their color, green, like jade it reminded him of fresh fields and the forest, it was strange since he had never seen any one with eyes that green.

Hijikata snapped out of his train of thought before they consumed him and caused him to have a problem down south, and would have to rectify it using a bucket of cold water and his right hand, seeing that would be most inappropriate for a man of his rank in the Shinsengumi to do that. And so as he laid himself down to rest he fell to sleep with those eerie green eyes on his mind, haunting him in every way.

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Okey lovelies

here is the new chapter and so soon, i hope you're proud and I hope to not repeat my mistake and i hope you review and favorite this story

Love Snow


	3. Chapter 3: confrontations

Chapter 3: confrontations

Disclaimer: I don't own American McGee's Alice or Hakuoki

Alice awoke with a thumping head and back ache early the next morning not really understanding what on earth was going on. As she tried to get up she realized that she couldn't as someone had bound and gaged her leaving her with her hands stuck uncomfortable behind her, she had contemplated using her abilities in the form of her butterfly dodge in order to escape her precarious predicament but thought against it in favor of trying to coerce her captor into freeing her from her bonds.

Suddenly her train of thought was broken as the door to the room she was currently in slid open showing a young man in traditional local attire, carrying a tray of food and drink, seeing her in the state that she was he put the tray down and undid the thin ropes that kept her hands painfully in place while cursing someone for making the knots damn near impossible to undo.

"I'm sorry for how you've been treated but we can't be too careful here" he said quickly as he undid the gag allowing Alice to remove the fabric that had been crudely shoved in her mouth.

"I should bloody hope so, if this is how you treat your guests I'd fear what happens if you capture an enemy" said Alice in a semi haughty rasp, glaring at the man in front of her, trying to intimidate him.

"I've brought you some food and drink and once you've eaten I've been instructed to bring you before the commanders" he stated calmly, ignoring her glares as he went to stand at the doorway letting Alice eat her meal in relative peace.

Once Alice had finished eating, she made an attempt at standing up only to end up staggering and falling back onto her rear, it seemed that sleeping in such an awkward position had caused her legs to fall asleep on her, upon hearing the thump she had created, her "watcher" came back into the room and helped her feet only for her to repeat her stagger and fall routine causing him to laugh and scoop her up and carry her to their destination.

"Stop laughing, my legs fell asleep on me, it's not funny!" Cried Alice her voice sounding a lot better now that she had had something to drink.

"I'm sorry but that was just so funny to watch" he said trying not to laugh as he carried her towards where she assumed the commanders were waiting to see her and probably decide the sordid way they were going to silence her. As they arrived her proverbial watcher put her down and slid another door open and placed her inside the room where she was sumarily surrounded by strangers one of which was the man she saw the night prior to arriving.

"So you're awake then" one of the men stated blandly eyeing her in a predatory manner.

"Yeah you slept so soundly that you gained tatami marks on your face" another man with chestnut brown hair said, causing Alice to subconsciously touch her face and causing a couple of the others to chuckle.

"That's enough Sougi" commanded the man with dark amethyst purple hair, he turned to look at her with a frown.

"It's alright there aren't any tatami marks in your face" he stated calmly as he surveyed her with his hawk like gaze.

"How cruel Hajime-kun you didn't have to say that" he replied in mock defeat, causing Alice to frown and narrow her eyes at him.

"You two, this is no time for foolish prattle" another man stated, Alice turned to get a better look at him only to get a surprise, it was him, the man from last night, he must have been the one to have brought her to this place.

"yeah" was the only lazy reply that came from the man that was teasing her.

"And that thing's the witness, she's all tiny and thin, probably still a kid" and increasingly younger member of the group said now making himself known.

"Excuse me but you do know that it's rude to call a lady a child especially if you don't know her age" Alice snapped angrily her cheeks already red from embarrassment.

"Anyway you're in no position to call somebody a kid, Heisuke" one of the other men said light heartedly as he messed with the younger man's hair.

"You got that right, to the world at you're pretty much in the same boat squirt" another interjected smiling at the folly of their young friend.

"Oh be quiet, you two old guys can just shut it!" The young man said his ears growing increasingly pink at their comments and slapping his associates hand away from him.

"What where you're just saying young man" the man said as he continued to mess with the boy pressing down on his head, laughing at his friends mishap with their guest.

"I don't ever recall you ever calling me an old guy, Shinpachi's a different story though" the other man in the conversation jokes.

"Bastard you selling me out Sano" the man said sounding rather irritated.

"That's enough the three of you" one of the older men barked causing the entire room to go deathly quiet.

"My apologies for all of this chattering nonsense, you needn't be afraid, come shut that door and take a seat" another man with thick black rimmed glasses said trying to keep Alice calm.

"I'm sure I would be able to comply but due to last night being bound and left in such a position made my legs go to sleep on me" stated Alice in a calm sickly sweet voice, with a false smile that spoke extreme volumes.

" I'm Isami Kondo commander of the Shinsengumi, Sannan-kun here is the deputy commander and Toshi is, rather Toshizo Hijikata is vice commander" the older man began to say, introducing the two men on either side of him.

"Kondo-San why are you telling the girl about us"the now identified vice commander demanded narrowing his eyes intense violet eyes.

"Err is that bad?" the head commander asked in confusion.

"Of course you're going to be interrogating her not asking her out to dinner" one of the men sat at the back stated lazily leaning up against the wall.

"Well now being earnest to a fault is really your style isn't it Kondo-San?"another stated causing his commander to cough into his raised fist in embarrassment.

"well yes, then let's get down to it, first will you tell me about last night's events Saito-Kun"the commander asked his cheeks still a dusty pink from the cheeky comments of his subordinates.

"last night in town a group of three failed warriors encountered some rogue samurai on the street, a sword fight ensued but we managed to settle things however there was something odd, the young lady sat in front of us managed to not only witness the whole incident, but also slay one of the failed warriors with her own hands" the man with the Amethyst hair stated, glaring at Alice as if daring her to speak against him. as heads turned to look at her Alice narrowed her eyes.

"What I do in my own defense is none of your concern, those rogue samurai as you put it where going to assault me regardless if those things had interfered"snapped Alice at her hosts.

"Is that so if you were only defending yourself what weapon did you use I mean someone weak like you could never beat them with out a weapon" the youngest said in a deadly calm voice.

"It's amazing what you can do with a simple kitchen knife these days" she stated with a small smirk and glinting eye's knowing that they would be shocked at her own capabilities. Everyone in the room stared at her wondering weather to be awed or terrified of her as they stared her down like a pack of wild animals.

"So then you managed to get a good look at those soldiers where killing those rogue samurai" the man lent up against the back wall said as if he was trying to make her slip up.

"Not that it matters, I did" stated Alice in a rather haughty voice, trying to get on to her feet so she could leave.

"Easy there, we didn't meant to upset you there, I can tell your speaking the truth" the other man at the back said trying to diffuse the situation before it escalated.

"Oh come on hand me a blade that's the best way to make sure the brat doesn't talk right" the chestnut haired man said smirking.

"What do you mean by recklessly endangering innocent civilians like that" The commander said raising his voice in anger.

"Come on it's just a joke" he tried to defend his actions.

"then try saying something that sounds funny" the vice commander said in a stern voice.

"Any way's who would believe me if I where to say anything" Alice pointed out the obvious as she opened the door to leave. As she stepped out she was grabbed by the wrist and dragged back to the room she woke up in.

"Don't leave this room, if only for your own sake if I where you I would assume the worst of my fate" said the man as he shut the door and left Alice to figure out how to get out of the horrible mess she'd inadvertently created.

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Hey lovelies

I'm back again, sorry it's taken a while the internet has been truly bollocked here in the UK (cough...Bad weather...cough).

any ways leave a review and a suggestion either what happens later on in the story or even on how to improve my writing.

thank you and stay tuned

Love Snow


	4. Chapter 4: escape and powers

Chapter 4: escape attempts and powers exposed

 _Disclaimer: I don't own American McGee's Alice/ Alice the madness returns or any thing to do with Hakuouki._

While Alice was postulating about her possible escape an argument had broken out in the meeting room.

"What! Let her live!" Exlaimed Shinpachi in shock at Hijikata's decision about their new "house guest".

"Is that alright Hijikata-San, the girl witnessed them, she saw the failed ones" claimed Sanosuke, staring at Hijikata begging him for an answer.

"Last night we eliminated warriors who turned their back on the code, but the thing that disturbed me is that she managed to disembowel one of the three we were sent out to destroy, thus causing her be a witness to their death" Hijikata stated calmly as he sipped his tea quietly.

"So just going by that, Do you wish to say it friend?" Sannan said softly looking at Hijikata with calculating eyes.

"That is the extent of the poor child's grasp of this situation" Hijikata replied sternly glaring back at Sannan.

"Well if you say so Toshi" stated Kondo looking at his associate with concern.

"This was your plan from the start yes? Otherwise you wouldn't have brought her back to headquarters well not alive anyway, with that being said, This secret will have to be protected, we simply can't let her go Scott free," Sannan stated matter of factly.

"I'm well aware of that, there are things I still need to confirm" said Hijikata pushing himself up on to his feet heading towards the door.

Meanwhile Alice was brooding in her gilded cage, she knew if she stuck around she would certainly end up dead with in a week at the most, they even made sure to hinder her by confiscating her boots and the vorpal blade. However she had to get out regardless of the situation she's in, she knew that they were going to put the needs of the Shinsengumi above her circumstances.

As she reached her decision Alice got to her feet and went to the door and opened it. Carefully checking that no one was around, she made a break for her much cherished freedom only to grabbed by the back of her dress and raised up until her feet where no longer on the ground beneath her.

As Alice turned her head to tear into whoever was doing this to her, she saw Hijikata's amethyst purple eyes burning with anger.

"you idiot, did you really think that you could escape like that" he said in an angry tone.

"put me down!" Shouted Alice in frustration trying to get out of his firm grip.

"I told you I'll kill you if you tried this" he warned her sternly.

"you'll do that anyway, if I stay I'll probably end up being a whore for you until my use is at it's end, I refuse to end up that way, I've waited for way too long to have my freedom back, I won't let some one take that away from me" she stated angrily.

This statement caused Hijikata to put her down allowing Alice some leeway to run or at least make another escape attempt through her powers. At least until she felt his hand clamp tightly around her tiny wrist.

"If there's a reason for you to risk your life out there, I'm more than willing to hear it" he said primly, as he began to pull her towards wear she guessed were his quarters are.

As he opened the door he shoved her in causing Alice to fall to her knees.

"so what is this reason you want to take your chances out there" demanded Hijikata.

For Alice it was like a dam bursting and flooding the room. Every thing came out, the fire, her parents and sisters deaths, her time at Rutledge Asylum and her life in London thereafter, this caused Hijikata to see a different side to his prisoner, at first he saw a vicious woman capable of killing without remorse, but now he saw, a woman who had a life worse than anyone, she was small, vulnerable, delicate, yet strong and determined to survive wherever she goes. But he could sense that there was more that she wasn't saying, so he chose to be patient and wait till she was ready to tell him.

"there is something else you should know, I have some odd powers" Alice said looking down in disgrace, as she gave away her dirty secret.

"What powers?"he asked obviously curious about her abilities.

As a demonstration she used her butterfly swarm, shrinking and growing (not to a giant but big enough) and summoning weapons from hammerspace.

" You're right they are odd but they saved your life last night" said Hijikata not knowing weather to fear her or be awed at her abilities.

"I suppose, but my safety is not worth my freedom, this is a cage in the guise of a building, a cage now matter how gilded it is, is still a cage" she said sadly silently, wishing she was at her residence in town.

Knowing the sad predicament the poor girl was in he decided to carry on talking to her if only to bring some comfort to her.

" I never did learn your name" said Hijikata hesitantly knowing, for a fact while Alice has been living in the area for a couple of years, her clothes still practically screamed western girl, meaning she grew up with different ideas on what was considered good and proper.

"It's Alice, Alice Liddell" she said politely sitting up.

"well Alice, I can't take any risks with your safety, and if people where to find out of your abilities who knows what will happen, but we can try to make you more comfortable if you pull your weight" stated Hijikata in a bid to comfort his guest, well he couldn't call her a prisoner or hostage, now the situation has changed.

As he got up he head shuffling and whispers from behind the door only to have a group of curious soldiers fall in.

"so I'm guessing that you've heard everything, so I want two of you to go with Alice here, to her residents and help her collect whatever possessions she needs and help her bring them here, she is no longer a prisoner but rather a guest under the Shinsengumi's protection" Hijikata ordered causing multiple volunteers to do so, and all that Alice could think was that this was going to be a long day.


	5. Chapter 5: Moving in and Conversations

Chapter 5: moving in and conversations

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own, either Hakuouki or American McGee's Alice/ Alice the madness returns in sense I own nothing.

It took a few days for Alice to get settled properly, due to everything being so rushed, she opted to follow instructions and decided to remain in her rooms, she opted to unpack her possessions.

While there wasn't much, it was enough for her, a photo of her and her late family, some clothing, her drawing and sketching equipment (book, graphite sticks, paints, pastels, ink etc, etc), her sewing kit, her treasured stuffed rabbit, her writing equipment, her diary and some other Items from her travel trunk and her bags.

"What now, I mean most of the men know there's a woman amongst them" she said to herself as she sat writing in her diary adding sketches and descriptions of the men that she could remember, as she wrote and sketched her mind turned to Hijikata's face, his sharp angular jaw line, his defined features along with his sharp eyes, she had never seen eye's that were that color, they were like burning amethysts, they seemed to Pierce everything right down to her very soul, somehow he made her feel safe free from her troubles, but she believed this was just a pale facade.

Looking up and shaking her head as she looked to the window, seeing the sky was already a glow with a pink hew a sign of dusk's swift approach.

Smiling as she got up and wondered, towards the window she silently started to watch the sky's daily display of colour, from pink to lavender, then orange, Alice carried on watching is peaceful silence as the sun turned a stunning shade of red and began to dip beneath the hill's the clouds looked like they where glowing from with in.

"beautiful isn't it?" Said a soft voice out of no where, causing Alice to jump three feet high.

Shocked at the sudden introduction of noise, Alice leaned out of the window to see who was there only to see Okita lent up against the wall also looking at the sun set.

"huh what a surprise, you didn't notice" he said in a tired and lazy tone to her looking up to see her peeping out of the window.

" I was so sunk into my writing, so I didn't notice" said Alice going pink with embarrassment.

"dinner has been prepared, are you ready?" A soft stoic voice came out of no where, causing Alice to turn her head only to see Saito carrying a tray with her evening meal, followed by Heisuke behind him.

"I'm very busy , you go ahead and eat" said Saito, showing his obvious lack of concern for Alice in his deep voice.

"Hijikata-sans order that she was to be watched at all times" said Okita in a near brattish tone.

"Well if we're supposed to keep an eye on her why don't we have her eat with us?" Asked Heisuke trying to resolve the situation unaware of the possible situation he was creating.

"We where ordered not to let her leave her room" Saito replied to Heisuke's question.

"Aww come on Hijikata is in Osaka he won't know" Heisuke countered in a winy voice.

"In that case" Okita sighed lifting the dinner trey out of Saito's hands and placed into, Heisuke's hands.

"Hey why are you...?" Heisuke asked confused, as to why the was handed Alice's dinner.

"It was your idea so we think you should be the one to escort her" Okita said whilst chuckling.

"But..."the poor boy stuttered before Alice cut in.

"Oh for heavens sake, I can look after my self, but if your so insistent, which way is the dinning hall?" she snapped causing Heisuke to jump three feet into the air.

"wow" he muttered his cheeks going fuchsia from embarrassment at being scared of the young woman in front of him.

The walk to the dinning hall was conducted in a vary awkward silence due to tempers running high, Heisuke thought that Alice has some right to be angry because of being stuck with nothing to do as well as being confined to her room, mean while Alice's thought where filled with regret of her action, but she was frustrated, lonely and most of all she felt trapped, she hated those feeling, because to her they where reminiscent of the life in England, over there the world was an extremely cold and harsh place, if you where different you where locked away and never seen again, no one noticed and no one had the heart to care.

Both youths trains of thought where shattered when they reached the door to the dinning hall, causing them to stop and shake their heads to clear their minds.

"Look I'm sorry for snapping, but every thing has just gone so wrong" Alice said, blushing slightly as she looked at Heisuke.

"Don't apologise, you have a right to feel angry, if I was in your place I probably would have done a lot worse than just snapping at people" he replied, rubbing the back of his head, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

With apologies out of the way, the pair opened, the door and entered the dinning, only to be greeted with a sea of grins and smiles, as their new guest is introduced and seated.

"You took your time" chuckled Harada as he shifted positions.

"What are you going to do about the growls my stomach is making" moaned Shinpachi uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry, this is my fault" said Alice in a more relaxed tone, trying to hide her shame at unwittingly making every one wait to eat, also causing every one to stare at her.

"What's she doing here?" Ask Harada, trying to assess her.

"What, she not allowed?" Asked Heisuke, defensively.

"That ain't it at all, food tastes better when good friends come together to eat" Shinpachi, said grinning madly.

"Look don't just stand there, sit down with us" said Harada, moving to make room, for their new guest to sit.

"Okay, here you go" said Heisuke, calmly as if to reassure Alice that it was alright to be with them, while he placed her food down ready for her.

"Thank you Mr Toudou" said Alice politely.

"Yeah, but enough of that Mr Toudou stuff, every one just calls me Heisuke, I'm fine with that" said Heisuke in mild annoyance at how formal Alice was being.

"But..." Alice began to say before she was cut off.

"It looks like we're about the same age, so it's better any way, and I'll just call you Alice " he said before she could get another word in either way.

"So it' s Heisuke then" she said softly trying to process what's going on.

"Yeah, much better, okay then Alice, Very nice to meet you" he said warmly, cultivating what he hoped to be a good friendship with the young woman stood before him and his associates. With that every one sat and gladly began to eat, once Saito had thanked god/the gods for the food.

As the meal progressed every one started talking and goofing around, some of the men had tried stealing from others meals.

"Still tonight's dinner looks a little stingy so..." Said Shinpachi as he proceeded to steal some of Heisuke's fish.

"Hey! Shinpachi why is it that you always steal my food!" Heisuke exclaimed.

"It's about body size Pipsqueak, us bigger guy's need more food" Shinpachi said laughing, heartily.

"Hey I'm still growing so I'll need more food than you" Heisuke cried out launching over to snatch Shinpachi's fish, only for Shinpachi so snatch it up and eat it faster than Heisuke could grab it.

"Too slow kid" was all that could be heard between munching and other sounds that where disgusting in Alice's view.

"You're eating that as it is, at least spit the bones out, it's disgusting" complained Heisuke, only for Shinpachi to offer him the tail piece, for which he declined, with disgust.

"It's like this every time, sorry for the ruckus their animals" said Harada in a way of apology.

Alice surveyed the room, the corner of her mouth twitching with amusement at the others antics while Shinpachi and Heisuke carried on arguing.

"Not at all dear, I must admit, it is nice to interact with every one at meal time" Alice said offhandedly, unknowingly allowing a tiny smile to form on her pale face.

"Ahh you finally smiled" said Harada calmly, causing Alice to turn and face him.

"I hope you do realize that we mean you no harm, you should smile like that more often it's adorable" he said smiling.

"Okay, if you say so" Alice replied, going into deep thought, wondering if her observations about the Shinsengumi where wrong and that she may have to reprioritise her thoughts on them.

The door suddenly opened breaking her chain of thought as one of the groups subordinates came in.

"Can I have a minute every one, I bring news from Hijikata-San who's currently in Osaka, it seems that in the course of his duties, Sannan-San incurred a great injury" the man said in a straight yet wavering tone. Causing every one to gasp or straighten up with concern.

"To what extent was the Injury" Inquired Shinpachi, sounding serious for the first time since Alice met him.

"The letter say's that his wounds are deep, but the injury's have been to his left arm I'm afraid, it'll be difficult for him to hold his sword, but his life is not in danger" the man almost sounded crestfallen, as he delivered the news to his superiors.

"Oh thank god" Alice said Quietly, she liked Sannan, seeing that he was one of the few people who where genuinely nice to her when she first arrived.

"That ain't good!" Heisuke nearly shouted at her not realizing that she's glad that Sannan was alive.

"A sword can not be wielded properly and successfully with only one arm, Sannan-San may never be able to hold a blade again" said Saito in an extremely dark tone of voice, obviously trying to reprimand Alice. Causing her to gasp and look away in shame.

"If it comes down to it all we can do is give him the medicine or something huh" said Okita looking down in an almost calculating way.

"Don't talk foolishness, we can't risk a Shinsengumi leader like that" said Shinpachi sternly obvoiusly knowing what was being implied.

"Isn't Sannan the deputy commander?" Alice inquired politely not knowing what to think any more, while she understood the benefits of medical drugs and serum's, she also understood that they could have detrimental effects in the future.

"Yeah about that, Shinsengumi means newly selected corps, for us the sen means..." Heisuke began before he was viciously punched in the face by Harada, followed by Shinpachi pulling Alice behind him in way of protection from the horrifying attack.

"That's going too far Sano, harming both Heisuke and the girl as well" yelled Shinpachi, bringing Harada back to his senses.

"I'm sorry" he said with closed eyes, his voice , conflicted and strained.

"It's alright, I'm really sorry about that too, but jeez you're quick to take a swing " was the horribly strained reply that came from Heisuke, who now was holding his hand to his face, and looking at Harada through one of his turquoise eyes.

"I'm sorry Alice-Chan, but what Heisuke said is all you're allowed to know about our inner workings and nothing more" said Sinpachi calmly as he stared at the two people in front of him and Alice.

"The Shinsengumi that Heisuke mentioned means some pretty unhappy children" said Okita callously as he sipped sake quietly.

Alice stood there silently looking from face to face, with a terrified expression etched on to her own. After a few moments, she took of running back to her room only to be pursued by Shinpachi, Heisuke and Harada.

As soon as she got to her room she sealed herself inside, leaning up against a wall hugging her knees to her chest, rocking as tears rolled down her cheeks, only for then to fall to the floor, as fist banged on the door and voices called out begging to let them in ricocheted of the walls and ceiling.

"Alice, please let us in" Heisuke, Harada and Shinpachi begged as they hammered away with their fists knowing that she was absolutely terrified, but unaware of the fact that they were making it worse.

"GO AWAY!" They heard her shriek from the other side of the door.

"But..." Heisuke said before Alice cut him off.

"I said go away I should of known that you all where nothing more than savage thugs!" She practically screamed through the door, her words hitting them all where it hurts, while Alice turned her mind to the people of London and the staff of Rutledge Asylum, the only two people who where kind to her long forgotten and replaced with the abuse she suffered.

Suddenly the banging and the yelling stopped, and she heard some soft shuffling out side along with some whispers, however they where too far for her to make any thing out, soon every thing was silent except for Alice's quiet sobs. Carefully with shaking hands Alice ignited a lanterns and picked up her sketch book and pencils and began to draw her nightmarish perspective of the three young men, depicting exactly how she saw them in the darkest pits of her mind, to her they weren't men, they where monsters in men's clothing.

After finishing her horrifyingly grotesque picture, she fell into a terrible, tortuously fitful sleep, tears still soaking the pillow as she lay there allowing her dreams to consume her once again.


	6. Chapter 6: Alice's fear

Chapter 6: Alice's fears, Hijikata return

Disclaimer: I don't own Hakuouki or American McGee's Alice/ Alice the madness returns.

Meanwhile outside of Alice's room, Heisuke, Harada and Shinpachi had stopped hammering away, shocked at what Alice had said, those words showed how in so little time whatever trust she had in them, had been destroyed with one fell swoop and all because of one incident and Heisuke's loose lips none of them considered that she would wind up afraid of them.

"You guys I think we should leave her be" whispered Heisuke softly in response to her loud sobbing from the inside, not knowing what to think about the situation.

"yeah" agreed Shinpachi and Harada understanding that they've scared the guest enough for now, they didn't take her words straight to heart like Heisuke but they still had a terrifying impact on them.

After a few minutes, they turned and walked back to the dining hall in bitter silence, all three of them wrapped up in what happened and not knowing what to say to the others. As they entered they were greeted by blank stares knowing it can't be good.

"she's not coming out" where the only words that came from Heisuke.

"So what was that about, I know she was frightened but this is a whole new level"Said Okita surprised at Alice reaction, at first he thought it was priceless, but once he thought about the situation it was odd, the girl seemed so fearless, sure he wondered what would scare her, but this was ridiculous.

"We, did not think that one little thing could cause this?" Said one of the men surprised at what just transpired.

"The night before Hijikata-San left for Osaka, I overheard Alice and Hijikata talking in his room, I heard some things about her youth, involving people who had been excessively violent towards her, perhaps what she saw reminded her of what happened" stated Saito quietly.

The next day, Alice awoke and out of impulse decided to have a hot bath, if only to forget the evening before, so grabbing a clean black pinafore dress (she had so many to chose from), undergarments and other things she would need, before heading to where ever the bath was, and soak her problems away, she thought that perhaps that she truly needed it.

Meanwhile after Alice had left her room, Heisuke snuck in and saw her sketchbook, lying open on the table, and was disgusted by her latest piece of work, as he quietly padded out of the room he was grabbed by the scruff By Shinpachi. Both Harada and Shinpachi had been lying in wait, watching what their friend, was up to and to see if they can mess with him even more, not realizing that Heisuke was trying to find away to fix things with Alice, as well as to try for a friendship with her.

"Well, Well, Well, what have we got here?" Said Shinpachi in a mocking voice as he pried the sketchbook out of Heisuke's hands.

"Hey, give that back it's not even mine"Heisuke burst out making a grab for the book only for it to be pulled out of his reach.

"So it's hers Naughty, Naughty, you of all people shouldn't steal, Heisuke, anyway why do you want with a girls book? Is it something special?" asked Harada in an equally mocking tone to Shinpachi.

"why don't you look? I'm sure you'll feel ill after you've seen the drawing, I know I did" replied Heisuke truthfully, what he saw really disturbed him, each drawing varied, from beautiful flowers and cityscapes to gruesome depictions of people and animals in the form of monsters, it was truly the stuff of nightmares to see what she see's froze his insides.

As Harada and Shinpachi skimmed through the book, they were equally disturbed by her works of art, they were horrified at the detail in which she drew and painted, contorted faces, dystopian worlds, elegant pasts, nihilistic futures, monsters of multiple descriptions as well as many, distorted objects, people and animals.

"Woah, these are pretty dark" muttered Shinpachi, staring at the pages as his face went drastically paler as the assault on his eye's caused his stomach to churn uncomfortably, after a few minutes he shut the sketchbook, thrusted it into Heisuke's hands and ran off to be violently sick in a hedge, with the images from the book running through his head.

"Well that was disturbing" said Harada calmly, yet still visibly shaken and the grotesque pictures, not knowing what to think.

"Yeah, I know, but I think that this is how she sees the world, I don't know what happened to her before she came here but it's obviously influenced her art and her outlook on life" Heisuke said sadly, causing Harada and himself to regret their barbaric actions the night prior.

Meanwhile Alice was lying in deep water letting its heat sear her skin from a porcelain white to a deep ruby red, over the course of her bath, Alice had began to think about the night before and the fight at dinner, she had to admit that Harada's behavior scared her and reminded her of both the orderlies at the asylum and of Jack Splatter, these thoughts and similarities overwhelmed her and caused her to overreact out of fear.

Looking back all those years ago Alice only had three people who were genuinely kind to her and who actually wanted to help her, nurse Mary who worked with the children of the asylum, she had fixed her stuffed rabbit and fed, washed and clothed her while Alice was in her catatonic state, she ironically was the one who got Alice drawing in order to communicate with the doctors and nurses, then there was Dr Ryans he was a new doctor at the asylum but he never gave up on her, he made her treatments, and medicines himself, and he made the time to try to communicate with her.

When she was released she asked why and how and he told her that he believed that while she was trapped in her mind and she communicated through the occasionally spoken word or sentence as well as her drawings, that she had to face whoever was keeping her there I.E the red queen, he thought combined with the medicine and treatments, Alice was able to face her inner enemy or at least keep her body alive while her mind was in wonderland.

Then there was Nan Sharp, she was Liddell family's nanny and the only person who actually bothered to visit her at Rutledge, she knew Baldroy would have visited if he wasn't busy fighting in a stupid war somewhere, seeing as he was a soldier, he was probably sent to fight in the war of independence or the Crimean war, anyway nan had visited her and had offered her a job at the mangled mermaid after Bumby had died by her hand.

while it wasn't prostitusion there was that risk, something Alice wasn't willing to take and so she started working odd jobs like housekeeping, child care and at one point she managed to sell some of her drawings and paintings to the tourists and some of the more gullible wealthy people of London, and as soon as she raised enough, she wrote to nan that she was leaving the country, she and nan still kept correspondence but sadly the letters where far and few in between.

Breaking her train of thought she decided to sit up and wash her hair and face while the water was still warm, once this was done she climbed out of the tub and dried off, putting on her pinafore of the day, she opted to avoid the men for a while so she could make up her mind and apologize for her deplorable behavior as well as the horrid comments she made about them, particularly Heisuke, Shinpachi and Harada, after all they were only doing their jobs.

Sighing Alice left the bathing quarters and carried her things back to her room, after a while of sitting and staring at her diary, she realized that she had nothing to write about, so she chose to wander around the grounds of the headquarters until something took her fancy, it wasn't until she had made it to the well on the other side of the complex that she had noticed something, it was a tiny mewing sound coming from the base of a wall hidden in a clump of flowers, it was a cat and her kittens, Alice smiled at the sight of the family, the mother cat looked up at her as if to say "look", which caused her smile to deepen in warmth and for her to reach out and stroke her as she fed her three tiny kittens.

" I thought you were supposed to be in your room" came a soft yet stern voice, causing Alice to look up and see Saito, with a sweeping brush.

"I didn't feel well being cooped up in my room all the time, so I chose to have some exercise and fresh air, and I just came across this little family," said Alice, genuinely smiling for the first time in a long time.

This answered shocked Saito, he was expected a cold aloof reply like he received a few day's prior when he asked her about killing one of the failed ones. It was odd, for the stoic man to receive, such a reply it caused him to relax ever so slightly.

"Alright after your done, I will take you back inside" he replied curtly.

"Hey, if you would rather be training with your associates I can sweep the grounds if you like" she said, in an attempt to stay outside for longer, plus if she was staying her she might as well make herself useful.

"Okay then but why?" Saito asked cautiously, wondering what Alice's motives where.

"I might as well make myself useful while I'm here" she replied "and plus it will give you more time to do what is important to you after all".

"Fine then" said Saito handing her the broom to her.

Over the span of the day Alice volunteered herself for a few of the household jobs like sweeping cleaning dishes or washing laundry, during these tasks Alice thought about what she was going to say to Heisuke, she felt terrible about it, and so she decided to apologize when she joined them for their evening meal. As she worked a way she didn't notice that she was being watched by Kondo who was now becoming intrigued by the young woman, so he decided to talk to her after dinner that evening.

Meanwhile Heisuke was in the process of trying to sneak into Alice's room to replace her sketchbook, as he did so he noticed there was so much he didn't know or understand about the girl he and his comrades were living with, her other book, the one he saw her writing ino was full of a strange language that he couldn't understand.

He gathered that she wasn't from this country but where was she from, she was educated enough to be able to read, write and speak several languages, she was sophisticated and well aware of domestic management as well as possessing other skills and talents. Shaking his head, Heisuke placed the sketchbook back on the table and crept out only to bump into the subject of his thoughts on her way back to her room.

"Oh Hey Alice" he said sadly.

"Heisuke... Look I'm sorry for the way I treated you last night, it's complicated but in time I will be able to tell you why" said Alice as they both started to walk towards the dining hall.

"It's alright, we shouldn't have behaved like that, we had no idea that you were terrified so I'd like to apologize for that"Heisuke replied with a small smile.

"Thank you" was Alice's reply as they entered the dining hall and sat down.

While everyone was eating and talking or in Heisuke and Shinpachi's case arguing and stealing each others food causing Alice to either face palm or look away as well as another soldier reprimanding them for their behavior, Kondo noticed that their guest was started to open up, and warm up to everyone now that she and Heisuke had made up. Suddenly the merriment was silenced as Hijikata entered the room.

"I've returned men" he said in his calm baritone voice as he addressed his associates as he surveyed the room and its occupants.

"Ahh Toshi" said Kondo, relieved at his swift return.

"Hijikata-San" said Okita in his usually lazy, relaxed voice, but all the same, he had a smile upon his face.

However the smiles vanished when Sannan entered the room with his arm bound up in a sling, leaving his hand to hang lifelessly.

"Vice commander, Deputy commander excellent work" said Saito as a somber way of acknowledgement.

"Yeah" was the only reply that came from Hijikata as he sat down.

"Welcome back Sannan-San" said Okita warmly.

"It's nice to be back here" Sannan replied in a tired yet weary voice, being careful not to jostle his damaged arm while he sat himself down.

"Good work my friends, how is your arm?"congratulated Kondo asking about Sannan's arm out of polite concern.

"As you can see, I suffered defeat" he said sadly, as he looked up and scanned everyone's faces only to stop at Alice's concerned expression.

"It's perfectly alright, It's not as bad as it looks, so please there's no need for anyone to worry, now if you excuse me" he soothed, as he got up and left the room.

"Sannan-San what about dinner?"asked Okita as Sannan was leaving.

"That's fine, I'm somewhat tired, so I'll be going to my room, I need some rest now" he said as he shut the door behind him, as he walked down the corridor he cradled his wounded arm, gritting his teeth in pain.

Meanwhile back in the dining room everything and everyone was silent as the grave, this silence was only cracked when Okita decided to open his mouth.

"Hijikata-San, what about Sannan-San's wound? How is it really? Tell us"he asked softly.

"I can say nothing" hijikata replied before finally noticing Alice sat snug in between Shinpachi and Harada.

"What are you doing?" He asked, causing Alice to look up at him.

"Tell me, who allowed you to leave your room and dine here with these men?" He asked sternly.

Before Alice could answer she was interrupted by Kondo.

"Uhh, Toshi, I sort of invited She..." Kondo began before he was cut off by a myriad of voices, all of which where claiming they invited her to eat with them.

"You all, how reckless of you" said Hijikata in acalm reprimanding voice.

"Where's the harm, it's just to eat, and besides Alice won't try to escape, she hasn't tried these last couple of week's " said Heisuke in a laid back tone of voice, unaware of Alice's personal plans.

"It's only been a couple of weeks!" Snapped Hijikata.

"If your that worried about her then you should watch her around the clock, you be her babysitter for once" said Okita tiredly.

"I'm not a baby, I'll be twenty next week!" Snapped Alice, she hated being treated like she was a child.

"Toshi, come on can't we at least give her permission to eat here with us" said Kondo in an attempt to pacify Hijikata.

"Kondo-San, if you're that Naïve the groups leadership will fall apart, surely you have to be aware of this" stated Hijikata.

"It's not a problem, I'm not that hungry anyway, I should heading back to my room" said Alice quickly as she attempted to get up and leave.

"Stay where you are and eat" said Hijikata in a more authoritative tone, causing Alice to gape in confusion.

"well guess I'll eat something too" he said calmly, while someone volunteered to fetch a tray for him.

Alice didn't know what to think seeing, to her Hijikata seemed to have more clockwork tendencies and his behavior made her weary of him.

"well Okay then I guess this means we all get to keep eating together can't we Alice" Heisuke said delighted with what's going on.

"If you say so" Alice replied briskly.


	7. Chapter 7:Sannan's Pain, Alice's choice

Chapter 7: Sannan's Pain, Alice's choice

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Hakuouki or American McGee's Alice or the Madness returns

Over the next few day's Alice decided to make herself useful by doing any household jobs like laundry, sweeping the halls and grounds and other small tasks throughout the day's. But in the evenings and nights she was plotting, away to escape her prison cell and the Shinsengumi, she had devised a ritual to allow her to shift from her room to wonderland at her discretion, it was all a matter of time.

However, no matter how much she beavered away and worked herself into a trance she was still very observant and had noticed Sannans peculiar behavior, he seemed more quiet yet agitated, it broke her heart to see the look of frustration his face as he forced himself to train with his sword one handed, it made him look agitated if only with himself.

One morning Alice made her way to the kitchen only to be surprised to see Okita and Saito preparing for breakfast.

"Okita, Saito, good morning" said Alice sweetly, smiling.

"Good morning, Alice-Chan" said Okita distantly as he chopped whatever it was in front of him.

"you two make the meals for everyone?" Asked Alice politely.

"It's not if it's just us, everyone takes turns in making meals"said Saito softly.

"Hey Alice, Sannan-San said that he will be eating in his room again" said Heisuke as he entered the kitchen to join his friends.

"eat my foot, his chopsticks barely touch the food we make for him" said Okita as he proceeded to fill everyone's bowls with rice.

"That can't be good" said Alice sadly, knowing that he was hindering himself and his recovery by not eating.

"If Sannan-San doesn't eat, he won't get better will he?" Asked Heisuke hesitantly.

"No he won't, he'll just get worse!"said Alice snapping slightly.

"I've allowed you to eat in the hall with the others as I recall but I don't ever recall giving you permission to wander around the compound at your will" said Hijikata quickly causing everyone to jump slightly. This caused Alice's acid green eyes to narrow into slits and for her to walk up to him and start yelling. Shocking everyone else in the process, the never thought, that she would react that way let alone to their vice commander.

"How dare you talk to me like that! You don't even know what it's like being stuck with only two places to go to! And yet you speak to me like I'm a serving girl!"Alice Yelled with immense fury, causing Hijikatas face to go red with equal amounts of anger.

"How dare I! How dare you! your nothing more than a child and a foreigner in this land as well as an outsider to the Shinsengumi!" He yelled back at Alice, obviously forgetting why she came to Japan in the first place. Causing everyone in the room to stop and stare at him with slight disgust at how he treated her.

This aggressive statement caused Alice to step back and eye him critically, after a few seconds Alice turned and walked back to her room without a single word being uttered, the only thing heard was Alice's feet padding away softly. Now to everyone else in the room they thought that Hijikata had gone too far with that remark, while Hijikata was still angry at how Alice had the gall to yell at him like that, on the other hand Alice was silently fuming on her way back to her room, she allowed her thoughts to once again consume her as she considered getting even with him.

That's when it occurred to her, she could escape from right under his nose and head straight to wonderland, grinning Alice entered her room and set about starting the ritual to get there. She had just finished marking out the "magic" circles as well as the symbols on the floor in chalk when she heard a knock at the door.

Meanwhile in the hall every ones food had been placed ready for consumption, and most of the people had arrived and were ready to eat, they did however notice that someone was missing.

"Hey where's Alice" ask Shinpachi in between chewing and shoving more food into his mouth.

"She and Hijikata had a fight earlier" said Heisuke not bothering to look up, while he was hungry he didn't want to eat as much as he did earlier in the morning, that argument between Alice and Hijikata shook him to the core. At hearing this everyone stopped eating and looked at Hijikata, as if questioning weather it was true.

"She didn't like the way I was speaking to her, and it led to her yelling at me, the me calling her a foreigner and an outsider here" he said calmly, seeing as he was now regretting the way he yelled at Alice, it wasn't fair on her seeing as she was right much to his annoyance, he had talk to her like she was a servant and not the young lady that she was, he also kept her so restricted, to the point that she was suffocating.

"wow, low blow " said Shinpachi staring at Hijikata, not knowing what to think after all Hijikata was his superior but he liked Alice and she seemed so helpless.

"yeah Hijikata that was low even for you" agreed Harada further adding to Hijikata's guilt.

Things where rather subdued during and after the meal, as well as throughout the day for Hijikata and his associates.

Meanwhile in Alice's room, Alice and Sannan where chatting and trying to establish some sort of alliance with each other which resulted in Sannan apologizing for Hijikata's behavior as well as his hostile behavior as of late.

"I might be able to help you with that arm of your's Sannan" said Alice softly as she stood up and rummaged through one of the carpet bags she brought with her, this caused Sannan's left eye brow to arch slightly, as she pulled a large glass jar out of the bag.

"what is it?" Ask Sannan as Alice handed the jar to him, carefully using his good hand he lifted it to the light, showing the thick yellowish paste in it.

"it's called comfrey ointment , It's supposed to be a healing balm, when I was a child, I fell down the stairs and broke my leg, while it was healing it was painful for my muscles and joints, when it got too much my father would put some of that on me to alleviate the symptoms" replied Alice sitting down, subconsciously rubbing her left leg.

"I see, so you think this might help" said Sannan inquisitively.

"It might, just apply it to the skin, and massage it in" replied Alice calmly, knowing that it was a half and half chance.

Sannan smiled softly, knowing that Alice was desperately trying to help, if only to put everyone's fears to rest, and encourage him to look after himself, he quietly thanked Alice for her peculiar gift and left her room, disappearing back into his room, leaving Alice to get on with her ritual.

Meanwhile, Hijikata was pacing in his room, pondering over how he should apologize to Alice for his foul behavior and cruel comments towards her, he knew he didn't mean anything of what he said, she made him so angry.

This was when he heard someone at the door, he opened it to see Kondou.

"Well it seem's we owe our young guest our thanks" he said smiling, sparking Hijikata's curiosity.

"And why is that?" He questioned sternly.

"I've just seen Sannan-Kun leaveing her room smiling, he told me she gave him something to help with his wound, he was holding a jar of something" Kondou replied, causing Hijikata to force himself to bury any feelings of jealousy.

"anyway I thought you should know, she's up to seeing visitors " said Kondou smiling, watching as Hijikata stalked out of his room, and down the corridor.

Once Hijikata had reached Alice's room, he knocked, but received no response, so he quietly opened the door to see if Alice had fallen to sleep yet, only to see her sat up in her nightie, reading a book in her home language.

" I see you calmed down" said Alice softly not bothering to look up from the page she was engrossed in.

"And you too" replied Hijikata looking to the side slightly, praying his blush would fade, much like the night they had met.

"Is there particular reason you've come to see me at this hour?" Alice asked softly, still not bothering to look up from her book.

"I came to apologize for my atrocious actions this morning" Hijikata said, "take this proverbial slice of humble pie as it were".

"It's alright, I'm sorry about what happened earlier too, I was out of line with what I said as well" Alice replied finally putting her book down.

Hijikata smiled softly before turning to leave.

"oh by the way, what's the book your reading?" He asked trying to gain some knowledge about her or at the very least what she likes.

"It's called Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, it's quite the thriller" she replied the corners of her mouth tugging back slightly.

Hijikata smiled slightly as he shut the door and walked back to his room, he couldn't get her out of his mind, and the more he thought about seeing her curled up with her book, the more he desired to be the one she curls up with, he knew that Alice had been hurt and it had altered her perspective on life, making her seem so vulnerable on the outside, but she was so strong on the inside. Suddenly it hit him, he realized that he had something worth living and fighting for.

Meanwhile Alice was thinking of Hijikata, he seemed so callous at first, but she knew that it was a facade, and a very fragile one at that, as she could see through his mask of a cold hearted soldier to a soulful man, stuck with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Suddenly Alice's train of thought was interrupted when she heard a soft padding outside of her room, and so she opted to investigate it. She quietly rose to her feet and opened her door, only to see Sannan walking towards a room she never noticed before, being the ever curious girl that she was, Alice followed with little success. Suspicious Alice returned to her room and settled down for the night, sleeping on her thoughts.

The next morning was an odd one, Hijikata had heard news about the rogue samurai making their way into the Capital but they didn't know where they were in the capital, either the Ikedaya Inn or the Shikoku Inn, so the commanders decided to select their soldiers and split into to teams so they could raid both locations. Kondou ordered Hijikata to take 24 men to the Shikoku in while he took 10 men to the Ikedaya Inn, causing Hijikata to protest, claiming that it would be reckless to have so little men in his team, Alice and Sannan on the other hand were instructed to stay at headquarters for various reasons, mainly Alice being a woman and Sannan being injured thus making them both helpless and useless in battle.

Hours later after the troops had left, Alice was left to conduct her escape, she had begun the ritual and had gotten half way until something rattled her concentration and caused her to stop mid chant, disgruntled Alice opened the door to her room only to see a young man dressed in black from head to toe.

"Sir the rogue samurai have gathered at the Ikedaya Inn" the young man told Sannan.

"How careless of me, I've missed judged" replied Sannan franticly.

"I'll alert commander Hijikata at once" said the young man promptly.

"Thank you, time is of the essence" said Sannan as he suddenly looked to the door to see Alice standing there.

"Alice, you go with Yamizaki-Kun as well please" Sannan asked Alice.

This request put Alice in a quandary, she was going to make her escape tonight, but this request had reminded her that the people here had kept her safe in the last few weeks, they kept her fed and warm, this made her realized that she owed them a lot and probably owed them her life. With those thoughts, her decision was quickly made, she looked Sannan in the eye and nodded her head. Within seconds Alice found herself running alongside Yamasaki surprising herself by keeping up with him.

"Alice Liddell, wasn't it? Unfortunately I can't guarantee your safety tonight" said Yamasaki calmly to Alice.

"Okay" Alice replied panting slightly. They ran for what seemed for an eternity until they came upon a group of men who instantly turned away from Alice and Yamasaki.

"You have any business at the shinsengumi headquarters?"asked Yamasaki.

"No nothing at all" was the vague reply from one of them, looking away.

"Alice-Chan, no matter what, you must reach the end of this road" Yamasaki said calmly as he drew his sword.

"Of course"was Alice's only reply, as she started to run on ahead, not looking back, hearing yells and the clash of blades.

Meanwhile, at the Shikoku Inn Hijikata and his men waited impatiently trying to catch any form of movement inside with very little luck. everyone was on edge eager to get word of where the rogue Samurai where meeting.

On the other hand at the Ikedaya Inn the battle had already commenced.

"In the name of the Izu lieutenant general, we are the Shinsengumi, we're here to interrogate all of you" yelled Kondou, causing the rogue samurai to come running and to draw their weapons ready to fight.

"If you resist you shall be cut down" bellowed Kondou "kill them all!".

Causing his men to draw their weapons and launch forward into a bloody battle.

Back at the Shikoku Inn Alice had arrived much to the alarm of the men.

"what are you doing here! You should be at headquarters!" Said Hijikata.

"The Ikedaya Inn! You need to be there" cried Alice in between exhausted pants.

This announcement caused everyone to run towards the Ikedaya, Harada pulling Alice along, Alice on the other hand was making mental notes to loosen her corset or at least burn the cursed garment soon. The small army made it to the Ikedaya to see that the fight had started without them.

Meanwhile inside the battle was in full swing, neither side was showing any mercy, the Shinsengumi had already lost one man his comrades retaliated with equally lethal force, the smell of blood permeated through the air as the Shinsengumi cut through the rogue samurai man by man.

"Announcing us before we enter that typical of Kondou-San" said Shinpachi laughing as he slashed the chest of his opponent.

"There only two of them, kill them both" yelled one of the rogue Samurai drawing his blade when he saw Heisuke and Okita fighting his allies on the stairs.

"we aren't doing a bad job but they're hesitating alright" Said Okita peeking over his shoulder slightly.

"we'll clean them up by the time Hijikata and the others get here" replied Heisuke in a cocky fashion launching into another attack making his way up the stairs with Okita in tow, only to be met with two of the strangest men in the establishment.

They were dressed lavishly, as if they were part of the elite with one in a simple plain black and white robe and the other in an extravagant green, gold and red yukata creating a stark contrast between the two, almost like master and servant, but the most peculiar thing about them was that they didn't show an ounce of concern for the carnage that was surrounding them, they were watching the battle with what could be seen as either amusement or boredom.

As both Okita and Heisuke entered the room they both raised their weapons, preparing for a bloody duel, only when the two men looked at them, their fight commencing.

Meanwhile outside Alice stood waiting for news to take to Yamazaki and Sannan only to hear a loud crashing coming from the second floor, causing Alice to run in nearly getting decapitated in the process, much to the worry of every one of the Shinsengumi members on the ground floor.

"what are you doing woman!" Bellowed Shinpachi as he slashed the chest of his opponent and moved to try to shield her from harm.

"you shouldn't be here child"yelled Kondou as he fought and killed a rogue Samurai that stood at the foot of the stairs.

"there's something going on upstairs someone's got to get to whoever's upstairs" she yelled as she pulled out the vorpal blade from hammer space, slicing an attackers throat in the process. Then much to the shock of every one Alice used her butterfly swarm ability to get up the stair past more of the rogue samurai with lightning speed and to the second floor.

Suddenly there was a crash as Heisuke was flung through a wall, only to get back up and run back into the room.

"what the hell are you!" Exclaimed Heisuke as he staggered back onto his feet

"Stop, you have no reason to fight with me" the man with the black robe said sternly.

"what was that!" Said Heisuke his rage slowly building.

"Fall back now and I won't take your life indiscriminately, don't be foolish"his opponent warned him raising his fists ready to defend himself from further attacks.

"unfortunately, I can't overlook what you choshu guys are doing" said Heisuke with a deranged smile on his face as he launched himself to attack his new enemy only for his opponent to catch his sword in his gloved hand pulling Heisuke forward and punching him so hard that the protective head plate shatters and sending him back through a wall.

"wait damm it" was the final statement that Heisuke made before he fell unconscious, his wounds getting the better of him.

Meanwhile Okita was locked in combat with the man in the Yukata with little success or failure, it seemed that his fight was going nowhere. It wasn't until his enemy drew his sword that things get interesting.

"you may be worth sinking my teeth into" the man complimented or mock insulted.

"let your guard down and you may find those teeth being knock from your face" said Okita as he went in for another attack only for his opponent to deflect the attack and kick him in the abdomen causing Okita to start violently coughing up blood.

Meanwhile outside of the Inn a group of armed men approached only to be stopped by Hijikata, claiming that this fight was between the Shinsengumi and the rogue samurai, causing the men to back off after a few choice words and threats leaving the Shinsengumi to destroy any of the rogue samurai that thought they could escape.

Back inside Alice was tending to the walking wounded as she made her way upwards through the maze of hallways until she came upon Heisuke's unconscious form, knowing there was nothing she could do but see to his external injuries Alice did her best to patch him up with what little skills she had, once she had finished she carried on until she found Okita fighting one of the strangers until she saw him cough up blood, she saw red.

"Leave Him Alone!" She yelled drawing both men's attention.

"Alice What are you doing" yelled Okita moving in front of her creating a barrier between her and his opponent.

"something I should be doing" she replied as she seized the handle of the vorpal blade causing it to morph into it giant counterpart the Vorpal cleaver, causing the man in the yukata to step back.

"If you continue to interfere little one, I will kill you" the man said raising his sword to fight Alice only for the blade to cut clean in two by the cleaver, he obviously got the message and chose to flee.

"That was a foolish move girl" said Okita falling to his knees in exhaustion, and eventually into unconsciousness.

Suddenly everything went deathly quiet, that was when Alice realized that the Shinsengumi had won, and it was the moment where fragile loyalties fell solidly into place, at this point Alice staggered back to a wall and slid down it into a sitting position, the last thing she backed out was Hijikata entering the room, she smiled before it all went black.


	8. Chapter 8: an English Summuns

Chapter 8: An English summons

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Hakuouki, American McGee's Alice/ Alice the madness returns or Black Butler.

Hijikata was furious and terrified, watching Alice run into the fight like that, causing him to fight harder than ever before only to chase after her, during all of this he noticed that she had treated the walking wounded as well as Heisuke who was knocked unconscious during his duel, and was left with a head injury.

It was then, that he heard Okita yelling at Alice, calling her foolish before he passed out, he realized that Alice had started a duel with her knife, quietly he approached the door and looked in and was shocked to see that Alice's knife had changed it was huge, and heavy judging by her stance, he heard them exchange words and blows, only to see her opponent flee the scene leaving Okita and Alice alone in the room. Upon hearing the clattering of Alice's weapon on the hardwood floor Hijikata rushed in to catch Alice in mid fall as she blacked out, with a smile on her face. Carrying her back downstairs, he revelled in holding her whilst glaring at the odd stares he received.

Too an onlooker, it looked as if this bear like man had abducted a small child, however those of the Shinsengumi, knew that the child was a grown woman and the man was their vice commander, they he wouldn't harm an innocent let alone a woman. Harada and Shinpachi noticed the way that Hijikata held her was different from the night they met Alice, it seemed to be more gentle and tender than that night where he just scooped her up in a clumsy, haphazard way, it almost looked like he was coming to see her as an asset rather than a liability, worthy of his respect, he was terrified at the mere thought of losing her.

Once the Shinsengumi returned to the headquarters the wounded where instantly taken care of by the on site doctors while Hijikata slipped off carrying Alice back to her room, knowing that she was probably exhausted, as he tucked her in he noticed a pale pink powder fall from her neck and cheek onto his coat sleeve, it was odd but he thought nothing of it until more of it came away to expose scars that he hadn't seen before but he doesn't dare touch her. Placing the blanket over her, Hijikata quietly walks out of her room and back to his room. Gently he pulled off his coat and carefully wiped the powder off of it, bringing his hand to his nose, the powder smelled slightly floral with a hint of her natural essence, causing him to ponder over who Alice truly was, at first she was a stranger, a damsel in distress, but there was so much more to her than met the eye, she proved that she could look after herself, she new basic care when it came to the wounded, but there was so much more he wanted to know about her.

That night was spent in a fitful sleep for Hijikata, his dreams were filled with Alice's piercing green eye's and billowing flames, his mind brought him to an old house completely engulfed in flames, he heard people knocking and crying out for help only to be interrupted with the shattering of glass and a heavy thud as he saw a small child collide with the ground, he ran to the child to see if it was alright only to see those bright green eyes staring back at him as if to ask who did this?, causing to was with a start. It felt so real, he could have sworn that he felt the heat of the fire, smell burnt flesh and heard the people cries, he truly believed he was holding the younger version of Alice as she bled from her wounds.

Believing there was a fire, Hijikata was prompted to check in on her safety, if only to settle his own soul, in a blind panic and sleep befuddled state, he grabbed the well bucket and rushed over to Alice's room, as soon as he got there he tripped over his own feet causing him to throw the water over her, shocking Alice awake and causing her make up to be washed away staining her collar of her shirt pale pink.

The sudden shock from the cold water cause Alice to let out a ear piercing scream, waking everyone in the headquarters, bringing Hijikata out of his state, making him realize that there was no fire and that it was just a nightmare, leading to this awkward situation.

Suddenly there was a rumble of feet as half of the Shinsengumi appeared with weapons drawn only to witness their vice commanders humiliation and the sight of a rather wet and exposed Alice.

"Alice I... Uhh"Hijikata started before he was interrupted.

"Get out!"Bellowed Alice he eyes narrowing and her cheeks burning a bright red "you owe me a new futon!"she yelled throwing her knife at him as he ran to avoid it.

After Alice slammed her door shut, Hijikata looked up at his fellow soldiers causing him to go pink with embarrassment.

"Alright! Back to bed All of you!" Commanded Hijikata irritably as he stomped back to his room, and went back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Alice was not only humiliated, she was cold, confused and incandescent with anger at the invasion of her privacy, after drying herself, she eased herself out of her clothes, corset and into her nightie, and once she managed to procure some bedding from one of the cleaner men, settled down for the night.

The next morning was spent in an awkward silence for everyone, this was due to the hysterics of the night before, causing exhaustion from either laughing or from panic, and in Alice's case screaming, after a relatively quiet breakfast, everyone went about their business, from cleaning and laundry to training and cooking, Alice on the other hand was bored, and when she was bored she got into mischief.

This time she decided to wander off into town on her own, while the people knew her since she had been living in the area for two years, they still stared at her because of her clothing and other attributes that not many other local women had, to them she was still new and strange, it made her feel like a one woman freak show. Over the course of a couple of hours Alice had made it to the edge of Kyoto and up the hill to see the city in all of it's glory, there she sat and just watched as she allowed a warm autumn breeze blow through her hair.

It was then she heard a snapping of twigs directly behind her causing Alice turn to see a young man in Englishman's clothing.

"Hello?" Said Alice in a semi questioning tone not knowing what he wanted.

"Are you Alice Liddell?" Was the man's reply in perfect English.

"Yes, why? And who wants to know?" Alice replied in her mother tongue, narrowing her eye's with suspicion.

"My employer, the earl Phantomhive requires your presence for an important matter" was the man's reply.

"That's impossible, the Phantomhives are dead" Alice said sternly as she remembered Ciel but that was nearly twelve years ago for her, he was barely two when she had last seen Ciel and that was a few months before she was sent to the asylum.

"The young earl has returned and he recalls his fondness of you, he wishes to see you in order to catch up with you and request your help on a case" the man said with a slight smile as he handed Alice an envelope addressed to her.

"Okay I'll read it later and give you the answer when I have to" was the only response Alice could give as she picked herself up and headed back to the city, once she arrived at the headquarters she was met by a lot of concerned people asking her where she went.

"Settle down I was fine, I went for a walk, if only to get some air and clear my head" Alice said trying to reassure the men as she walked back into the headquarters, and back to her room, once there she pulled the envelope out of her coat pocket and opened it to read the letter.

 _Dear Alice_

 _It has been many year's since you've seen me and I understand that you've not been well enough to be out and about, but I also know about what happened three years ago, and how you were treated and I'm sorry that none of us were there to protect you. A few months after that you seemed to have dropped off of the face of the earth until I ran into Madam Sharpe who told me that you moved to Japan of all places._

 _Anyway now that I've found you and have all of the pleasantries out of the way, someone is targeting young women in Whitechapel and since you have some medical knowledge I feel that you'll be of great use to me in this case, not only as a medic, but as a pair eyes and ears and other uses._

 _I expect to see you soon, I gather that you've got some associates and if you believe that they may be of some assistance, do bring them along, I've also included a money order with this letter that should cover up to ten others passages to London plus expenses._

 _See soon_

 _Ciel._

For the first time in many years, Alice genuinely smiled as she remembered the little boy who was her brother in all but blood, however her smile turned into a frown when she was reminded that she had to tell the members of the Shinsengumi not only did she need their help but she also needed them to go to England with her. Carefully checking the envelope for the money order, gently folding the letter and money order back up and placing it in her pocket she exited her room and headed to the main dining hall.

Once seated and everyone was eating Alice decided to make her announcement, to say it caused alarm was an understatement that resulted in Heisuke begging Alice not to go, Sannan to raise an eyebrow in curiosity, Harada and Shinpachi laughing and Hijikata going pale with fear and concern.

After the meal, Hijikata decided to hold a meeting, to argue the pro's and con's of this trip to England, to him this was going to be a trip to hell because it was where Alice had run away from, where she was abused and where she lost her parents, but it was an opportunity to learn and evolve his tactics and obtain weapons in their fight against the Choshu and the imperial army, he also can get an understanding of the difference between cultures along with other things, however the main pro for him was that he could decapitate the person who had hurt Alice enough to be hospitalized for nearly ten year of her life.

After two hours of debating and arguing the group of commanders had agreed that Hijikata, Saito, Heisuke, Harada and a few others would join Alice on the trip to London, but they were reminded that this wasn't going to be a fun filled holiday, they where helping Alice and her friend, thus they had to be on their guard the entire time they were there.

The initial journey was taken by ship, where they docked in London and were collected by once of Ciel's business associates, then escorted to the Phantomhive townhouse, where Alice and Ciel had a rather somber reunion, that gradually grew into a joyous occasion.

"Well I never thought I'd see the day that you'd become lord of the Manor Ciel" Said Alice chuckling softly as she watched the twelve year old go through his paperwork and his lessons of the day (mathematics, literature and music).

"And I believed that you had been committed to Rutledge for the rest of your days" replied Ciel with a slightly frustrated tone as he worked on a rather difficult problem.

"Darling you can't keep a good girl down" Alice replied nonchalantly as she got up from her chair and reached for a tea cup of Darjeeling tea, she sipped it quietly closing her eyes in pleasure, seeing that it was the first time in three to five years that she has had a good cup of tea like that.

Meanwhile as Alice and Ciel talked Hijikata watched their interactions. He couldn't help but let his jealousy rise at Ciel because of how easily Alice could talk to him as well as smile and laugh at their antics. He longed to be able to talk with Alice like that, but as long as certain things hung over their heads, her abuse, his duty, and a whole slew of other things, much like Solomon and Sheba convention reared it's ugly head and came between them.


	9. Chapter 9: To catch a killer part 1

Chapter 9: to catch a killer part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

 **AN 11** **th** **of Jan: hey readers here's the new chapter and I have some important news I might be going into the navy if I pass the application process and training you will be looking at an apprentice chef with the RFA, wish me luck with this Love Snow**

After the festivities had ended everyone seemed to fall into a quiet routine, with Sannan and Hijikata in the library, Alice helping Sebastian and Baldroy in the kitchen, Heisuke was exploring the mansion with the others. Meanwhile somewhere in London another prostitute lay dying as her attacker proceeded to tear out her woumb with uncontrolled savagery, leading to another horrifying crime scene the next mourning for Scotland Yard.

The next morning Alice was summoned to Ciel's study to be briefed about the current events that held London in the grip of terror.

"this is the fifth murder within the last few day's, her majesty is growing most concerned and has asked me to intervene, however I need help, you and your associates can be my eyes and ears, I had considered madam Sharp but that would put more people at risk" Ciel began to say.

"so you need what little medical knowledge I have, eyes and ears and possibly be live bait" said Alice with a slight smirk, thinking that this was going to be fun.

"yes and you'd be paid handsomely for your services, but I warn you that this is going to be dangerous and I can't guarantee your safety" Ciel replied sternly, hiding his worry for the woman he saw as a big sister.

"I recommend that you send Sebastian make a list of possible suspects, I've got some errands to run then I'll be back with any info I can find for you" Alice said as she walked out of the study to collect her bag and walk out of the heavy oak front door.

Meanwhile Hijikata was speaking to Sannan when he heard Alice leaving, when he saw Alice walking through the front gate and into the city. Hijikata quickly stopped and began to descend the stairs calling for Heisuke.

"Alice has gone out, I want you to keep an eye on her, tail her but make sure that you're not seen, from what I've heard she's probably going to the docks to meet someone, make sure she's safe" commanded Hijikata in a stern voice.

"Okay, Okay, I'm on it" said Heisuke rushing to get out and after Alice if only to escape Hijikata's ranting.

Meanwhile Alice had managed to walk towards the old dock yard, where the Mangled Mermaid stood strong and proud for the people to see, while Alice had told herself that she would never set foot within the confines of the tavern/brothel again she did promise to drop in and see Nan whenever she was ever in the area if only to catch up and knock Jack Splatter for six as a warning.

"Well look who's back" said a familiar feminine cockney voice that came from above, making Alice Look up to see Nan looking out of the window smiling down at her.

"You know me, turning up like a bad penny as always" countered Alice with a smirk.

"Come in, you can tell me all about it" said Nan in a semi motherly tone.

Alice quietly entered the large building making sure to bypass the randy sailors, fishermen and a myriad of other shady characters looking for a good time at her expense, her route taking her past the kitchens and up the employees staircase. The place had changed significantly, since the last time she was there bearing in mind that the building had been burnt to the ground by Jack Splatter three years ago.

As she approached the upper levels of the building she passed several of the girls, all of them she knew because of various reasons and Nan being one of the main ones, all of them owing her a debt of thanks for saving them from their former pimp, Jack Splatter who was found beaten senseless and with several knife wounds in an alley way in Whitechapel, he lived but he was never the same again thanks to Alice, he was now the new resident in her old cell in Rutledge only without Nurse Mary or Dr Ryan's help.

"It's good to see you, the last time you sent a letter was four months ago!" Nan said in a slightly reprimanding tone giving Alice a small slap to the back of the head.

"Sorry Nan, but I was caught up in some thing's" Alice replied apologetically as she ducked to avoid another slap to the back of the head.

"please don't tell me that you're pregnant" Nan said sternly.

"What? No! I'm not pregnant, but I was taken into the Army's protection" Alice said her cheeks going a stunning shade of pink.

"oh so that's it, are they looking after you properly, cause if they're not I'll show'em" Said Nan smiling and rubbing her knuckles unconsciously.

"Don't worry they are and I've become a part of their group" Alice replied feeling slightly uneasy about the situation.

"like what?" Asked the older woman raising her left eyebrow.

"Emergency medic, the men are soldiers, Samurai they get injured on duty more times than not" Alice said looking at Nan skeptically, knowing it's the truth, but not knowing whether it would be believed.

Meanwhile Heisuke was trying to look for Alice with in the bar area of the building whilst fending off the young women attracted to his exotic appearance and some rather drunk and disgruntled men believing that he had stolen the girls from them, quickly giving up he decided to wait outside figuring that whatever she was doing was important.

It was about ten minutes later when Alice left the building and started to walk back towards the town house, not knowing that she knew that he was tailing her Alice went about the business like collecting ingredients for the dinner that night, eventually when Alice got to the poulterers she straightened up and smiled.

"Heisuke if your going to tail me next time please wear something less noticeable" said Alice as she entered the shop to make her purchases grinning as she gained one up on him.

After five minutes Alice and Heisuke walked back to the townhouse groceries in hand.

"So who were you talking to in there?" Asked Heisuke softly.

"oh Nan she used to work for my family before the fire" Alice replied as she opened the door and carried the groceries down to the kitchen.

While Alice was in the kitchen Heisuke was being grilled by Hijikata, after a small amount of time told him that Alice caught him on their way back. This led onto a rant from Hijikata about putting Alice's safety first and not getting caught, Heisuke could easily tell that not only Hijikata was nervous in this new environment with all of it's new and possible dangers, but his affection towards Alice was really starting to show.

Back in the kitchen, Sebastian was amazed at what the Earl's house guest was doing, she managed to shoo Baldroy away from her cooking and then requested Sebastien's assistance, after that while they barely said a word to each other they worked in complete synchronization, the only word's said where the beginnings of requests or commands with quick replies of "on it" or "it's already done", if felt refreshing to Sebastian that there was someone who was competent in the kitchen.

Within an hour the dinner was made and ready to be put on the table. Dinner was held in a rather pensive silence, with eyes darting from one person to another with the occasional glare from Ciel, Alice or Hijikata as they ate their meal, a rather heavy, rich and stodgy game pie with boiled vegetables and mashed potatoes, something that the Shinsengumi weren't very used to due to it's composition.

After dinner Alice spent her time with Ciel playing chess, it had been a while since she had played the game and she was a little rusty but she could still beat Ciel hands down, after a few rounds they'd begun to chat about the case.

"You know that this case could be dangerous, with the espionage investigation and evidence gathering " Ciel stated finally showing his concern for Alice, she was the closest thing to a big sister he had and he feared for her.

"Ciel, my life has never been easy or safe, plus outside of Baldroy you're the only family left, I'll do anything for you little brother" said Alice smiling softly as she moved her bishop to face the king winning the game.

Ciel smiled sadly knowing that what she said was true, he knew that growing up was hard for her, after she was sent to the assylum, then to Bumbey's home for wayward youths, however his mood lightened when he remembered that things had got better for her since then. She had her life back and that was all that mattered now.

Meanwhile Hijikata was sat in his room, wondering why he'd done what he did, many excuses ran through his mind but none of them seemed to fit as they were all pathetic seeing as she knew her way around London, she could protect herself, and she had people who cared about her as well as a strong determined nature, however he knew she was fragile, and weak these made her venerable, she was also rather cocky and reckless when it came to facing her opponent's, her standing up to Kazuma was a great example of this in action. After a few minutes he sighed and pulled himself together as he got out of his chair and went to speak to Alice about what he did.

"What do I have to do? To make you know that I love you?" He whispered softly as he left the room.

Meanwhile Sebastian had arrived with his list of suspects and their alibies from parties to treating patients, however there was only one suspect that had ties with all of the women, meaning he had been in contact with all of them within two day's before their deaths, the viscount Druitt, otherwise known as Aleister Chambers, a rather handsome, flamboyant man who loved to throw lavish and extravagant balls, he was also known to chase after pretty young things in dresses.

"we're going to have to catch him in the act" said Alice with a slightly frustrated moan, knowing that no one would believe them due to Ciel being a child and Alice being seen as mentally unstable.

"you're right" replied Ciel before he called Sebastian over.

"Master?" Inquired Sebastian softly as he surveyed the peculiar pair stood before him.

"Take Alice to the best seamstress you can find, and have her fitted for the finest gown that money can buy, we need to go the extra mile to catch our killer" said Ciel, cracking a small yet unnerving smile.

"why do I get the feeling that live bait is involved in this plan" said Alice sighing as Sebastien took her by the arm and escorted her out to get fitted.

Two hours later Alice was stood in a royal blue, white and silver ball gown with all of the extras, frills, gloves, jewels and matching shoes, it made her feel as if she was a doll or shop dummy, it was rather uncomfortable, her hair had been immaculately groomed and styled, held in place by thousands of painfully positioned hairpins and finished with a silver and sapphire tiara.

Meanwhile from Hijikata's perspective, her transformation was astounding despite her obvious discomfort, much like a caterpillar to a butterfly her beauty had increased dramatically, while she was beautiful already in his eye's, this demonstrated how much beauty she had hidden away from prying eyes. With this his fear grew, if there was someone would snatch her away from him, or if this serial killer would target her for it.

As the others stopped what they were doing and see what was going on, only to be met with such a sight, they couldn't believe that this was Alice, the young woman they'd seen at the Headquarters, cooking, cleaning and healing their wounds. While she was pretty enough she seemed so Prim and proper as well as plain, but now seeing her now, she was a beauty, a hidden princess in the making. As they caught a glimpse of her, all of the less restrained men of the group when bright pink as they blushed at the vision that was Alice Liddell.

"wow, if that's what Alice looks like in English party clothes imagine what she'd look like in a kimono!" Exclaimed Heisuke grining knowing that his comment would rile up Hijikata.

"Heisuke-kun I wouldn't say that with Hijikata-kun in earshot" warned Shinpachi knowing what consequences where a head, noticing Hijikata's cheeks and ears go a shocking pink and begin shuffling on the spot as they watched Alice leave for the viscount's ball. This was when the others decided to fall silent and with knowing smiles return to what they were doing.


	10. Chapter 10: To catch a killer part 2

Chapter 10: to catch a killer part 2: butterfly at the ball

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice the madness returns, hakuouki or Black Butler

Well lovelies

Here is a new chapter for a fury's butterfly, read and review and leave a plot related suggestion for me and it might be used.

Love

Snow

* * *

Once the coach arrived Alice stepped out to see a Manor that was equal in splendor to the Phantomhive mansion, and once inside she was surrounded by people, including Ciel, Madame Red, Lau and his female attendant and Sebastian all of them briefed on what they should do.

Hijikata and the others would patrol around outside in case the viscount tried to make a run for it, however Hijikata was anxious, he wanted to be inside where he could keep an eye on Alice, everyone knew that Hijikata was slightly jealous of the attention she gave Ciel, and he was afraid for Alice due to the damage this city has already done to her, it left her vulnerable and weak.

He tried to pass off as Alice's bodyguard, but was immediately turned away at the door with a metaphorical pat on the head and reassurance that everyone was perfectly safe at the ball, with a sigh of frustration he walked around the grounds watching out for and irregularities, until he was approached by Sebastian.

Sebastian needed to create a diversion, but he needed help with it, he'd noticed that the ringleader of the men in Miss Liddell's group seemed to be more protective of her than the others, he seemed to panic if the smallest thing happened to her, every interaction this man had with Miss Liddell amused him quite a bit.

"Excuse me, Hijikata isn't it?" Sebastian asked the stoic man.

"yes, what do you want?" Hijikata replied softly not even turning to look at Sebastian.

"I need to create a diversion, and I need an assistant in this public display" Sebastian requested with a smile.

"why me?" Hijikata asked raising an eyebrow at the request.

"the ladies like attractive and exotic looking young men like yourself, plus I noticed your pining after the young miss Liddell" Sebastian answered smirking, causing Hijikata to turn and look at him, as if to ask how did he know.

"So you'll help me, yes?" Sebastian said with a smile that screamed "I'll tell everyone about it if you don't".

Meanwhile Alice was being spun around the dancefloor by Ciel, attracting a lot of attention from many of the other men and women at the ball. However there was another pair of eyes on her that mattered more in this case, because they belonged to the ball's host. The viscount Druitt also known as Alistair Chambers, as flamboyant as he was had a good eye for pretty young women, and while there were many beauties at the ball tonight, but they all seemed to fade away once he laid eye's on Alice in all her splendor.

"What a beautiful little butterfly, fluttering about the dancefloor" he whispered to himself as he watched Alice and Ciel waltzed around.

Once the pair had stopped due to either dizziness or exhaustion, he decided to make his move and introduce himself.

"Young lady, you dance so wonderfully, care to join me for a dance" asked the viscount, causing Alice to jump and nearly drop her glass of sloe gin, Alice surveyed the man stood before her, he was a tall slender man who had sharp feachers that defined his aristocratic blood, he had deep blue eyes and a shock of blonde hair that reached his shoulders, and whore a pure ivory white suit, which only added to his attractive physique.

"Good evening, lord Druitt" said Alice curtsying politely, obviously trying to hide her shame with a bowed head.

The viscount smiled and gave a small chuckle, and hold out his gloved hand hoping Alice would take it. Alice looked at the outstretched hand for a few moments and then gladly took it, only to be escorted back to the dance floor for another whirl around. Meanwhile Ciel was surprisingly happy that everything was going to plan, the guests where being distracted by Sebastian and Hijikata with their magic trick, which was about to happen now, and Alice was distracting the viscount, he believed that once Alice get's the viscount to let his guard down enough to tell Alice anything no matter how small that piece of information was.

"you dance beautifully my lord" said Alice complimenting, the idiotic man who was leading her around the dance floor.

"why thank you, my little butterfly" replied the viscount, causing Alice to shudder in disgust.

The viscount let out a soft laugh and decided to lead her off of the dancefloor and up the grand staircase and down a long hallway.

"where are we going?" Alice asked in mock worry.

"just somewhere we can have a bit of fun" he replied nochelontly as he opened a door and escorted Alice into a dark room.

Once inside the room began to fill up with a heavily scented purple gas, feeling a sudden tiredness begin to over Alice staggered over to a table so she could hold herself up.

"What the?...Damn you!" She managed to growl out before she fell forward once the gas had rendered her unconscious.

"Sleep tight little butterfly" the viscount whispered as he caught Alice.

Half an hour later Alice woke up to find everything was dark as a factory chimney, she felt a piece of fabric across her face, a blindfold, after a few moments once her senses adjusted to the situation, she heard footsteps coming towards her, however they stopped a short distance away from her.

"now here we have a real beauty, this girl looks to be of noble stock, and appears to be in good health, she has some light scarring on her face, neck and upper torso, that may put you off, but for a true collector, this is a sign of true tenacity" said the viscount, like he was pitching a sale at an auction, then Alice released it was an auction, for human beings, and she was the next lot.

Just as bidding began a heavy banging on the door echoed from across the room, caused both the audience and the viscount to panic.

"Police! open up! you're under arrest!" Came Hijikata's booming voice came, terrifying everyone but Alice who was trying hard not to laugh at the pandemonium.

Suddenly the door flew off its hinges revealing Hijikata, Saito, Yamazaki, Okita, Shinpachi, Heisuke and Harada all with either furious expressions or evile smiles on their faces. This was when the viscount became truly terrified for himself, while he knew he'd been tricked, by these men but he could see that they were dangerous, judging by the weapons they carried.

It was just then when Hijikata walked up to the stage that displayed Alice who had been bound and blindfolded, like a princess about to be thrown to the dragon, he looked at the viscount with absolute hatred for his treatment of Alice, it was like she was livestock to be sold in the man's mind.

"How dare you treat another human being like that, I should kill you for this atrocity" Hijikata said in a angry growl raising his blade so he could cut the viscounts head off.

"Don't Hijikata! We need him alive!" Cried out Alice at the realization.

"Yeah boss, if he dies we can't ring any information out of him about those murders" called out Heisuke as he cut Alice free.

"Plus we can let the real police deal with the illegal selling of humans" Alice continued in a stern voice, as she tore the blindfold off.

"yes, yes that's right you need me alive for answers!" Said the viscount quickly, obviously frightened at the possibility of death.

With that Hijikata sheaths his sword and walks over to Alice, scooping her up in a bridal fashion, and began to walk back through the ball and out to the Phantomhive townhouse, this gesture caught the eye of everyone at the ball along with many journalists and police officers who assisted in the operation as well as Ciel who was smirking at the pair.

Little did Alice and Hijikata know, Ciel had a pet project, a plan to show Alice how much Hijikata loves her, he knew how oblivious Alice could be, even to her own heart, and it would take a brick to the back of the head for her to actually acknowledge something as big as this. So rather than sending Sebastian, he sent Hijikata hoping that it would show her that her loves and cares for her enough to rescue her from monsters like Jack the ripper and Angus Bumby.

Meanwhile Hijikata had carried Alice, who was still groggy from the sleeping gas, back to the townhouse, by the time he'd got there Alice had curled up in his arms and leaned in to his chest, in an almost childlike manner, searching for comfort. Hijikata relished in the feeling, she finally trusted him enough for this, to allow her to carry her while she was still awake and aware of it was a step forward in his mind, seeing as he knew that Alice didn't trust people let alone men very well.

Once inside he carried the exhausted girl up to her room and gently lay her on her bed, however unlike the last time, he decided to stay with her, he pulled off her shoes and his own shoes and climbed in next to her, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, with the smell of her perfume, and the memory of her beauty at the ball in his mind for eternity.

Next morning when it was time to get up everyone decided to let Alice sleep after what happened the night before, so when Ciel sent Baldroy up to her room with her breakfast, he got a surprise when he saw Hijikata, lying next to his tiny cousin watching her as she slept the day away. Baldroy went bright red with protective anger, after he set the breakfast tray on a table by the door, he dragged Hijikata out of the room and proceded to hit him over the head with a frying pan he was carrying, yelling at him for his perverse actions, sadly for Hijikata this form of humiliation didn't stop there because he was witnessed by everyone who was awake in the house.

Hijikata entered the lounge only to be met with a glare from Madam Red and a series of snickers from his comrades, he knew he was probably in trouble for what he did, but with him being in a rather protective state of mind, he silently maintained to himself that nothing happened and while he had feelings for Alice, he didn't wish to discuss it with the others. With turbulent times in Japan he had learned that if someone of his station in the military had an emotional attachment to someone it could end badly, on both sides.

However the mood quickly changed when Ciel saw the headline of the daily star, it turned out that jack the ripper struck again the night of the ball, while they got results and exposed the viscount as a human trafficker and running an illegal slave auction, it wasn't the result they were after, they now had to find more suspects and go after more leads as well as possibly do another undercover job, something Alice was in no condition to do.

Ciel was frustrated to no end with this case, he had been considering Madam Red's recommendation of allowing the case to go cold, but this made him realize something, causing him to make a mental note to tell Sebastien and Alice later.

* * *

hey lovelies

i know i've been neglecting this story but i recently got into Durarara and I'm already a harry potter fan, so i decided to expreiment and do another first for me and do a hp and durarara fanfiction.

any way's please review and swing by to my profile and vote on my pole for Shizuo's Rose.

Love Snow


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